Power Rangers: Omega Force
by BCRangerDanger
Summary: A swarm of deadly nanobots escaped from a military experiment and have evolved into creatures who want to destroy the world. The scientist responsible blames himself and sets out to fix his mistakes. He recruits 5 college students to fight the world ending danger using the power of a secret military experiment in order to defeat The Swarm.
1. 1 - Red Rising Pt 1

Hey this is my first foray into power rangers fanfic. I've had the idea of multiple different teams and stories and wanted to start here. The next few chapters will both introduce the power rangers' power as well as build the rest of the core team. I hope you enjoy and please review the chapters as they come so I now what I'm doing right and wrong. Thanks!

* * *

Brian groaned as his alarm began blaring again for the third time that morning. He blindly reached out and fumbled around with the clock, finally managing to hit the snooze button once more before rolling back over in his bed. 'It's too early for this', he thought. His head was beginning to throb, and he couldn't tell if it was because of his alarm clock or the night before. The gears began to turn in his head as began to remember everything that had transpired the previous evening. "I made to Dog Tavern for Clint's 21st birthday party. We were having a great time and then….ohhhh", he groaned. "I forgot I saw Shelby parading around with her new boyfriend. My friends bought me way too many shots to try and help me forget about her." Brian finally opened his eyes at this revelation, but quickly closed them shut as the light filtering in between his window shades caused his throbbing head even more pain. The thought of him doing or saying something stupid in front of his ex made him groan again.

"Hey are you finally up?" Brian heard his roommate Jack yell into room. Brian's earlier groan of embarrassment must've been loud enough for Jack to hear in the other room.

"Yeah", Brian croaked back. "I'm getting up."

He slowly rolled out of bed and shuffled his way into his bathroom. Flipping on the light and looking in the mirror, Brian was surprised to see the makings of a black eye and some other slight bruising and some cuts on his face. "That must be why my head and face are hurting so badly", he thought to himself. He sighed wondering who he had obviously fought the previous night and why. Before he could even yell out to his roommate, Jack poked his head into the bathroom.

"Hey bud, how're you feeling after last night?" Jack inquired. His vision quickly centered on Brian's bruised face.

"What happened last night? I don't remember getting too drunk, and what the hell happened to my face?"

"Well we all noticed that you had spotted Shelby and her new boyfriend so to take your mind off of it we went to grab you a drink. You noticed some douchebag creeping on Catherine and went to tell him off. He got super pissed at you and began to yell at you and push people around as he made his way out of the bar," Jack informed him. Catherine was a good friend of both Jack and Brian; her group of friends was pretty tight with theirs. "She was pretty thankful and joined us in our round of shots. After that you wanted to go to a different bar so you and I went outside. That's where you got jumped by that douchebag and five of his friends."

Brian winced as he began to recall bits and pieces of the fight from the night before.

"Two of them grabbed me and held me back while the other four started beating on you. You managed to put up a pretty good fight considering it was one versus four. You actually knocked two of them out before one of them grabbed your arms and the big one just started pummeling you. That's about when the rest of our friends ran outside. That sent the group of them scurrying away."

"All because I was looking out for Catherine?" Brian asked, shaking his head. "You do something nice and get your face wrecked for it."

"Yeah well everyone thought what you did was nice and the right thing. Plus, it was pretty badass being able to take out two out of the four guys who ganged up on you!"

"Yeah I guess it kind of is," Brian chuckled and shook his head. "Alright, let me take a shower and grab breakfast then I need to go hit the gym."

"Sounds good, I need to run to class anyways. Professor Chan said I'll start losing points if I'm late again." Jack shouted as he ran out of Brian's room.

Brian heard the door to his room close as he got into the shower. "Why do I always do this? I always have to try and play the hero don't I?", he thought to himself. Looking in the mirror Brian tried to gauge the full extent of the damage to his body. At six foot one he was relatively tall, and his years of sports and workouts left him built with lean muscles. Looking over his shoulder in the mirror he could see he had a few bruises on his ribs and back, probably from when the guys from the night before we're kicking him when he was on the ground. Sighing he turned back around and ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair. "At least I still look pretty," Brian said to himself winking in the mirror before heading to the shower.

It was going to be a long day having to explain the state of his face to his friends, and he needed to call Catherine. "She'll probably end up blaming herself for what happened. I need to let her know I'm alright," he thought as he began to shampoo his hair. After getting out of the shower and eating a quick breakfast Brian put on some blue gym shorts and a white t-shirt. As he pulled his sleeveless red hoodie over his head he winced in pain as a sharp pain shot up his side. "Maybe I'll just keep my workout light today." He slipped his iPod armband on and put his earbuds in as he left his apartment and began his daily run to the campus gym.

It was a beautiful late summer day in Bay City and Brian breathed in the fresh ocean air that was blown in from the coast. He took a second to breathe in calming scent and appreciate how beautiful it was on the California coast. Two years ago he had moved across the US to attend the Bay City Institute of Technology, more commonly referred to as Bay Tech. It was one of the most prestigious universities in the world and we'll renowned for the many technical innovations that were developed on the campus. Enjoying the uncharacteristically cool day in late August Brian began his run through the middle of campus towards the gym.

 **Across Campus**

Doctor Ian McCoy slammed his phone down onto its receiver cursing to himself. The Colonel had just informed him that the failed experiments had been spotted again, and that his organization would not be able to keep to the occurrences from being made public for much longer. Ian massaged his temples, massaging the wrinkles that now creased his forehead due to a mixture of age and stress. He knew he had to complete his work as soon as possible to being to make up for his previous mistakes or else people would start to get hurt. He picked up his spectacles from his desk and gathered his latest research notes and a thumb drive containing the program he had completed coding the night before. "Hopefully this time the process will be a success," he mused as he walked out of his office.

He began to walk out of the nanotechnology building where his academic office was as began to hurry across campus to his research laboratory when he heard his two assistants call out to him. Ian turned around to see the two Ph.D. candidates jogging over to him.

"Perfect timing you two," Doctor McCoy said, quickly glancing at Mike Thompson and Julia Dobbs. "Come with me, we have a lot of work to do with the nano-bot project today."

"Of course professor, we just finished our lectures. Is everything ok?" Julia inquired. The 27-year-old could be best described as 'mousy', however underneath her glasses messy red ponytail was the brain of a genius.

"No, not at all." Ian lowered his voice, "The swarms were spotted again. I fear the worst may begin to happen if we do not finish the project soon."

"Well you did say the Omega Strain should be viable for human testing after you ran the latest numbers didn't you?", asked Mike. Being a bit stout and shorter than both the professor and Julia, he began to break out in a light perspiration as he huffed and tried to keep up with the brisk pace the other two were taking.

"Quiet! Do not speak of the project when we are out in…", the professor began to reply before screams ripped through the air and an explosion was heard in the distance towards the middles for campus. "Hurry! We must make sure the swarm is not responsible!"

With that the middle aged man broke off into a sprint towards the quad in the middle of campus.

 **The Other Side of the Quad**

Brian had just crested the largest hill on campus, colloquially referred to as "frosh hill" as every freshman dorm was located at its base and therefore freshmen had to make the climb to the top of it every morning for classes, and slowed down to a walk as the pain in his side once again began to act up. He pulled his earbuds out and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he walked past the student union into the center of the quad.

"Brian! Hey Brian!"

He looked around trying to find the source of the shouts. His eyes finally fell on the peppy blonde skipping down the student union steps.

"Hey Cat. I was going to call you after I got back from the gym. I just needed to clear my head this morning first," Brian said, using his nickname for her, smiling as Catherine walked over to him. Without another word Catherine sprinted the last few feet to Brian and wrapped him up in a big hug. Being at least five inches shorter than him she buried her face in his chest and held onto him tightly. She held on to him until Brian said, "sorry I might be a little too sweaty and gross for this hug."

Catherine laughed at this and released her hold on him. He noticed she had tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm just so glad you're not too hurt after last night. I can't believe what those guys did to you, all because you told that one off for being a drunk creep. It's all my fault you're hurt."

Brian could tell she was trying to hold back tears at this point. He smiled, taking both of her hands in his.

"Don't worry about it. You're one of my closest friends, I'd take those guys on again in a heartbeat for you." Brian beamed at her with his smiled cocked a little to the side. "Only I can mess with you." He added with a wink.

This caused Catherine to laugh and take a step back. She was wearing a pink tank top with a white button down over it tied at her navel and a pair of tight white shorts.

"I'm sorry, I just...you didn't have to do...and I am thankful for…", she stammered. "Ugggg! I don't know what came over me. Thanks for always looking out for me. I'm glad you're always around for me."

"Don't sweat it. You know you can always count on me to be there for you. Look I'm gonna finish my run and go work out, but maybe tonight we can…", Brian began to say before he was cut off by a number of people screaming behind him from the other side of the quad.

Brian and Catherine turned to look to see a few dozen people running away from what appeared to be a group of humanoid creatures all in black.

"What the hell is going on?" Catherine asked, just before one of the creatures raised the strange looking staff in its hand and fired a ball of energy out of it. The ball of energy struck the ground a few feet behind one of the groups of fleeing people causing a small explosion that sent them flying a few feet in the air in every direction.

"OH MY GOD!" Catherine screamed. She began to shake and grabbed onto Brian as she began to turn and run, however Brian was rooted in place. "Brian come on we need to get out of here!"

Brian shook his head and looked down at her.

"Cat, run for safety, some of these people need help. Call 911. We need the police and ambulances here right away."

Without another word Brian ripped himself out of Catherine's grasp and sprinted straight ahead towards the unknown impending danger.


	2. 2 - Red Rising Pt 2

**Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the introductory chapter to my new Power Rangers team and story. Things will begin to pick up from here on out so don't worry. I like to do a bit of world building and such, it won't be all fight scenes and megazords. But don't fret, there will also be plenty of those. Please favorite to follow along and review so I know how I'm doing, what you like, don't like, etc. It's Christmas break for me for the next few weeks so hopefully I'll be able to get a chapter out every other day or so. I have so many great ideas and can't wait to share them all. Thanks!**

* * *

The ground shook beneath Brian's feet as he sprinted forward across the grassy expanse that was the centerpiece of Bay Tech's quad. Energy blasts shot forth from the group of humanoid creatures' weapons sending the groups of fleeing students scattered across the lawn flying through the air. Brian raised his arm to block the flying dirt and debris from getting into his eyes. Darting left and right to avoid energy blasts directed at him, Brian took a leap forward just as the ground beneath his feet erupted as another energy blast struck. He hit the ground hard but managed to tumble forward and brace himself with one knee and hand on the ground. Looking quickly around Brian was pleased to see most everyone had evacuated to the buildings on either side of the lawn. He noticed however a group of three students were injured lying on the ground halfway between him and the approaching group of creatures. Without a second thought he took off once again running full speed at the creatures, letting out a great yell as he approached.

* * *

Almost out of breath Doctor McCoy turned the corner of the applied sciences building bringing the campus' quad into view. Before him, where only minutes earlier students happily milled around and enjoyed the beautiful day, were terrified students, screaming and fleeing in all directions as patches of the grass burned where they had been struck by energy blasts. The front facades of the buildings that flanked the grassy field were damaged, and in some places beginning to crumble where they had been struck. The air was filled with acrid smells and smoke was rising all over the place. Mike and Julia finally caught up with the professor huffing and puffing.

"Professor you didn't need to…", Mike began to say in between breaths before he stopped mid-sentence as he began to take in the scene of destruction before him.

"What is going on? Ahhhhh! What are those things?" Julia screeched pointing at the grotesque creatures in black causing the mayhem before their eyes.

"Oh god no. So they truly are real. This is all my fault," Dr. McCoy dejectedly proclaimed. With trembling hands, the professor pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. "I have to alert the Colonel that they are here. They've begun to attack people. And here on the campus of all places."

As he finished dialing his eyes were drawn up to the figure of a young man sprinting across the grass, heading directly for a group of injured students right in front of the creatures.

* * *

"Are you ok!" Brian shouted at the two guys and girl who were struggling to stand. They were obviously all disoriented and stunned from one of the blasts that must have struck the ground near them.

"What?" Shouted one the guys who had managed to stand all the way up. "What!?"

"Run! You all need to get out of here right now." Brian responded.

"What?" The guy said again.

Brian realized the sound of the explosion must have caused the boy to temporarily lose his hearing. Deciding arguing with him would take too long as the creatures were almost upon them, Brian grabbed the guy's arm and directed him to help his friends escape while they still could. As the guy began to help his friends up one of the creatures leapt forward at them.

Brian landed a high kick, right in the center of the airborne creature's abdomen sending him flying back a few feet and landing on its back. This grabbed the attention of the largest of the creatures who stood in the center of the swarm. It was at least a foot and a half taller than the other creatures and had a significant amount of extra mass on him. It had bright red eyes that shone through what to Brian appeared to be a spiked helm that covered most of its face. Two large bat-like wings protruded from its shoulder blades. Across its chest was a purple and black sash which was tied to a dark red loin-cloth at its waist. In its right hand was clutched a gruesome looking blade, over four feet long and serrated near the top which curved ever so slightly. Opening its fanged mouth, he began to bark orders at his minions.

"Nanodrones, destroy that nuisance, then continue with the destruction!"

The a few from the swarm of nanodrones broke off and began to converge on where Brian stood. He took a fighting stance bracing himself for the assault. Up close for the first time he was able to make out the details of these so called nanodrones. They all appeared to be almost exact duplicates of each other. A little shorter than him they had legs that resembled a satyr from Greek mythology. Their equine legs however were scaly and had three spiked toes. Their arms were covered from wrist to shoulder with spikes. The most unsettling part of their appearance however was their featureless faces. No eyes, nose, or mouth; which made the fact that they all made a high pitched screeching sound as they approached all the more horrifying.

Brian ducked the punch that the first nanodrone who reached him threw, following with an uppercut of his own to its jaw, sending it sprawling back into two others.

"This has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever done. Who, or better yet, what are these things?" Brian thought to himself.

However, before he could question the predicament he had gotten himself into an unexpected kick from behind brought Brian to his knees. He quickly rolled to the side and kicked out, sweeping the legs of one the nanodrones out from underneath him. Quickly rising to his feet Brian was able to land a few more punches on two of the attacking nanodrones before one attacked from his exposed right side punching him square in the ribs. Brian crumples to the ground, grabbing onto his side.

"Gaahhhh," Brian cried out in pain. "Ok this is officially the worst decision I've ever made."

Already heavily bruised from the night before, the latest punch sent pain like a stabbing knife up and down his rib cage. Gasping for breath Brian clawed at the grass with his right hand. Gritting his teeth Brian was able to get on all fours. Hit looked up, and was barely able to make out the leader of the swarm shooting blasts of dark purple energy from left hand at the buildings and groups of terrified fleeing students though the tears of pain in his eyes.

"Run and hide humans! Your days of owning this planet are through. We are Nanoborgs. We are the new inheritors of the Earth. You will either bend the knee in subjugation, or face death at our hands. You are to be the witnesses of our power, and our cruelty! I am Gorlinar! Remember my name."

* * *

"The swarm is now able to control and modify bodies. And they are beginning to have self-thought," the professor muttered into his phone. He was peering around the corner of the applied science building watching the events in the middle of the quad unfold. "They must have mutated on their own. Colonel, if this is case then the problem is worse than we imagined. Steps need to be taken to destroy these things."

He stood rooted in place, listening to the caller on the other end of the line for a few moments all while intently watching and listening to what was happening on the field.

"Colonel, I'm sorry, but the Omega Strain is just not ready yet for human testing. I...need to go." He trailed off as he witnessed what had just occurred.

* * *

The nanodrones began to shriek and jump up and down at Gorlinar's proclamation. Seeing this as a chance to strike, Brian shook his head to clear his mind then stood up and bolted straight at Gorlinar. His quick strike caught the creature unawares and Brian was able to stagger him with a punch to the back of his jaw, right below his ear.

"Impudent human. How dare you strike me. I am Gorlinar prince of the Nanoborgs!"

Regaining his composure Gorlinar reached out and grabbed ahold of Brian's head, as a basketball player would palm the ball. He lifted Brian up, his feet kicking wildly about as he was pulled two feet into the air.

"You will be the first example of what happens to those who oppose the rule of the Nanoborgs!"

Tossing Brian a few feet higher into the air, Gorlinar struck him down with two lighting fast strikes of his sword, slicing his chest open. Gorlinar laughed as Brian lay twitching on the ground bleeding profusely from the two deep gashes across his chest.

"Nanodrones, our work here is finished...for today." Gorlinar snarled. He and his nanodrones began to break apart until they were a giant cloud of swirling nanobots that then converged in a bright green light and disappeared, teleporting away.

* * *

Watching the swarm of nanodrones disperse Mike and Julia began whispering to each other.

"What did the professor mean when he said this is all his fault?" Mike inquired.

"He must have created those...those...things. Do you think this has anything to do with our research? The Colonel seems to be involved in both." Julia replied.

It was then that that they both saw the professor running out to the middle of the field where they saw the bloody body of a boy lying.

"Oh my god Mike. Someone's out there. We need to go help him."

"That's not our job, the paramedics should be here any minute."

The professor turned around noticing that his assistants were not following behind him.

"We need to help that boy. Come give me a hand!" The professor shouted.

Mike sighed and Julia and he ran to join the professor. They arrived and knelt down next to Brian. Julia began to check his vitals as the professor inspected the wounds on his chest.

"No...it cannot be. Or maybe it was meant to be." The professor muttered to himself seeing who it was lying on the ground in front of him. "Maybe, just maybe it will finally work," he thought.

"If he doesn't get severe help soon professor he won't make it. He's in critical condition. We need to get him to the hospital ASAP!" Julia shouted, as she began to shake, believing she was going to witness the death of the young man before her.

"No," Doctor McCoy stated, shaking his head. "There's nothing that a doctor or hospital can do for him now. At this point there is only one thing left that has a chance of saving his life. The Omega Strain."

* * *

 **What is this mysterious Omega Strain? What are the origins of the Nanoborgs, and just what is Professor McCoy hiding? You'll find out soon.**

 **Next chapter: Red Rising - The First Ranger is born!**


	3. 3 - Red Rising Pt 3

**Hey I'm back with another chapter! Like I promised I'll be able to put out a new chapter just about every day, or every other day. Please read my message at the end if you'd like to see your contribution added to my story. This one's a bit longer, but worth it. Enjoy!**

* * *

A flash of green light fully illuminated a gloomy cavern, casting shadows of stalactites and stalagmites across the walls. The sound of waves crashing echoed from the mouth of the sea cavern all the way, deep into the bowls.

"My mistress, I have returned. My mission was a success. The humans above now know of our existence, and our power."

"Good." Hissed a shadowy figure as she emerged from the shadows. "Our plan is on schedule, soon the world will tremble before the might of the Nanoborgs. There is nothing that can stand in the way of our forces as we begin to conquer the world above."

The creature's cat like eyes gleamed an inky black against the little light that was cast from the burning torches sitting in their sconces. She tilted her head back and began to cackle, filling the chamber with the haunting echoes as they reverberated back and forth.

"I made sure to make a make an example of one who would stand against us. But he will not be an issue. His death will be signal to all those who may stand against us. We are not beings to be trifled with, we are to be feared!"

"Oh my prince, wonderful work. This is exactly the opening move we needed to make. Nothing will stop us now. Nothing at all!" She screeched, throwing her hands in the air letting a blast of red energy radiate outwards from her. Sending the nanodrone minions huddled around their leader flying backwards.

* * *

 **Earlier at the Eisenhower Joint Military Base**

Alarms rang out all across the base sending everyone scurrying to their battle stations. This was the moment they had been preparing for over the past year. Soldiers cleared out the armory as they readied their equipment to be deployed. Helicopters engines purred to life as their blades began to spin overhead, preparing to transport the troops as a Humvee column, already packed full of troops drove past on the tarmac heading for action.

"Colonel, the troops have begun to move out, ETA is 15 minutes for our first responders to reach the Bay Tech campus," Sergeant Daniels informed his superior officer. "Our detection systems went off five minutes ago, they just appeared out of nowhere. Satellite images are showing major devastation on the ground, multiple casualties reported."

"So Dr. McCoy was right then. It was them attacking when we were talking on the phone. This has gone too far since containment was broken. Alert the choppers to hold off on leaving. I'll be coming to see the scene of the attack personally. And notify the tech division. They're going to need to run tests and take samples to confirm it was the Nanoborgs who attacked, as well as finding any potential weaknesses of theirs."

"Of course sir. Right away sir."

"Dr. McCoy's predictions were right," the Colonel thought to himself and he stormed out of the base's HQ heading for one of the awaiting Black Hawk helicopters to fly him the eight miles south along the coast from the joint military base to Bay City. The Eisenhower Base was the only one of its kind, a joint DoD base that the Army, Navy, and Air Force shared, protecting the most secretive military research installation in the world. "The professor knew they would adapt or evolve and become a dangerous threat to everyone. I just hope his weapons project is closer to completion than he believes. The Omega Strain may be our last hope."

As he reached the last Black Hawk that had yet to take off he put on his pair of aviators and climbed aboard, pulling a headset over his ears.

"Alright men, let's go."

* * *

 **Back at Bay Tech**

The breeze that wafted in from the sea made the smoke rising from the smoldering ground and buildings swirl around campus, adding to the sense of despair and destruction that had just taken place. Students and faculty stood around in shock, taking in the devastation that had been caused in just a short period of time by the mysterious attacking creatures. The sound of sirens pierced the air as the campus police were the first on the scene. They too were in shock but did their best to hold their composure as they attempted to keep order from degrading any further.

Catherine Spencer tentatively walked out of the Student Union along with a relatively small crowd of students and faculty brave enough to check if the danger was gone. Her hands shook and her heart was racing as she was trying to comprehend all that had happened in the span of a few short minutes. Brian as always put himself in harm's way without even thinking to protect others. She smiled and clutched her fist tight close to her heart thinking of him doing something that while heroic, was also so foolish and reckless.

"I just hope he's alright," she thought as she exited the building.

"Catherine! Catherine! What the hell is going on?"

She turned around trying to locate where the voice was coming from. She noticed Brian's roommate Jack fighting his way through the frightened and huddled crowd that still hid in the atrium of the Student Union. He finally made it through the crowd and stumbled out of the door. The shock of the events mixed with struggling through the large crowd left his yellow V-neck clinging to his sweaty chest. Jack Proctor was a little over an inch taller than Catherine and much leaner than Brian. What he lacked in stature however he made up for with his lightning fast speed. He was an all-state striker in soccer back in high school. Jack was surprised when Catherine wrapped him up in a big hug when he approached her. He felt her begin to shake as she pulled back.

"Brian…. he ran out to help people. Those things were attacking, he didn't think. He ran in. They were shooting everything. I don't know where he is. Oh my god Jack, I hope he's ok!"

"Woah easy Catherine, slow down. Who was attacking? Was this a shooting or terrorist attack? We need to get out of here."

"No, no. There were these creatures. They just...appeared out of nowhere. They started blasting the buildings and shooting laser beams or something at everyone. Brian just ran off to help everyone who was hurt. I don't know where he is."

Coming to the edge of the smoldering grass field, Jack and Catherine looked out to see a few groups of injured students being helped by the police and others along the edge of quad. However, after the scanning the scene for a few seconds they couldn't find Brian, the only evidence of the fight that took place minutes earlier being the stomped on grass and a bloody trail leading away from the fight.

* * *

 **The opposite end of the quad**

Directly opposite the Student Union a few hundred yards away across the grassy field that was the centerpiece of the quad stood the library. The impressive structure would not look out of place at an Ivy League school. Giant marble columns lined the front of the building atop a large staircase leading to the giant double wide doors that were flung open, leading to the three storied vestibule that served as the entrance. The building was the oldest on campus, over one hundred and fifty years old, however it, like most of the campus, had undergone extensive renovations over the previous five years. The official reasoning was to get every building on campus up to code, however the true reason of the renovations and construction projects around campus was to build an extensive series of tunnels, connecting many key buildings around campus a series of top secret government laboratories housed two hundred feet underground.

Dr. McCoy and Mike carried the limp body of Brian between them while Julia led the way to an inconspicuous door off to the side of the library's front staircase. The professor had taken his lab coat off and tied it around Brian's chest in an attempt to stem the flow of blood that had been gushing forth from his wounds.

"Doctor McCoy, he won't make it. Us carrying him like this will only kill him faster." Mike grunted as he struggled to hold up Brian by his legs.

"He's tougher than he looks. And he will make it, he must make it." Replied the professor between gritted teeth.

The three of them had barely been able to wrap up Brian's body and remove him from the scene without anyone seeing them. Most people were still in a state of too much shock to even register what was going on in front of them. Sneaking through the side entrance to the library they wove their way through the hallways until they got to a door that had a sign on it that read "Dangerous Chemical - Do Not Enter". Dr. McCoy nodded his head and Julia reached her hand out and placed in on the wall next to the door. A quiet hum was heard then a 'click' as the door unlocked. She opened the door exposing a spacious elevator that they all quickly stepped into. Once inside Julia took off her glasses and placed her eye in front of a retinal scan. Two seconds later they all felt a soft jolt as the elevator began to descend over two hundred feet into the ground.

"Once we get to the lab we must move quickly or this young man will surely die. Julia in my bag is a disk. On it is my new revised program for the application of the nano strain. Take it out and run to the terminal and prepare for the operation. The only hope we have of saving his life is for him to undergo the procedure."

"But professor!" Mike interjected. "The nanobots are not ready for human testing, let alone a whole application of the serum. It will kill him."

"He'll be dead if we don't try it, and I am certain this time the procedure will be a success."

"But we don't know the proper ratio, or if he is even compatible for bonding. This is ludicrous." Julia responded.

"I'll explain later, but if anyone can survive the exposure to the procedure, this young man can. Now Mike, I must go ready the Omega Strain of the nanobots. Once we get to the lab we will put him in the pod, you will need to make sure he is hooked up to the injectors, as well as put an IV in him for a blood transfusion. He's AB positive, a universal recipient, don't ask how I know. Once I have the Omega Strain set up we will begin the procedure."

"But professor, that is for the military project. You can't just use it on this kid, even if he is close to death." Julia said exasperatedly.

"DO NOT QUESTION ME!" Dr. McCoy roared. "This man risked his life, and I believe he is exactly what I am looking for my project. He will survive, and he will prove the power that the Omega Strain holds."

Julia and Mike just silently looked at each other before looking at the professor. They nodded at him in agreement at the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. They stepped out into an immense laboratory that, while sterile and cold, was not inhospitable. It seemed to be part emergency room, part laboratory, and part experimental military installation, as a whole wall was dedicated to prototype weapons and gear.

Julia sprinted off to the row of computers that stood behind a glass barrier. In front of the barrier Mike and Dr. McCoy laid Brian on a surgical table that was held in the air by a mechanical arm that would retract the table into a hermetically sealed pod. Mike began strapping Brian down so that he would not shift and placing medical monitoring devices all over his extremities.

Professor McCoy ran over to over to a silver looking object, about the size of an industrial refrigerator. Transparent coils and tubes ran in and out of the top, back, and sides of the object with different colored fluids flowing through them. Opening it up the professor gingerly retrieved the pride of his life's work. Years of research and testing, successes and failures had led to the creation he now held in his hands. He turned and walked back towards the operation room, being careful not to drop the glass cylinder in his hands. The cylinder was about a foot and a half long and over six inches in diameter. Inside a silvery-red mixture glowed brightly, the contents inside swirling around. At one end was a metal cap with a nozzle attached. Once he reached the pod, he took the cylinder and slid it into a waiting hole. A satisfying 'hiss' sounded as the cylinder's nozzle attached itself to the pod.

Mike had already joined Julia behind the barrier looking over the program, checking the viability of the procedure that was about to take place. The professor walked over to Brian who was lying on the table and leaned over him to whisper.

"I am sorry that you cannot choose this for yourself, however this is the only way to save your life. But I know in my heart that if anyone was to be chosen for this, you would be the best possible candidate."

Beginning to turn around to head behind the barrier himself, Dr. McCoy felt Brian reach out and grab his hand.

"Whatever this is, whatever you're doing…", Brian was able to wheeze out. "I accept the responsibility. Whatever the price is, I will pay it gladly."

With that Brian's hand went limp.

"Start the procedure immediately!" Dr. McCoy yelled as he ran out of the operating room to join his assistants.

* * *

Back outside Jack and Catherine were assisting the medical first responders on the scene as there were too many wounded and not enough EMS personnel to go around. Catherine was spotted by an ambulance driver that knew her from the volunteering she would do at Bay City General Hospital and asked her to assist them in providing first aid to those most in need of it.

"Lucky thing you're a pre-med who has gotten actual hands on training at the hospital," Jack quipped as he helped Catherine bandage a large gash on a teacher's arm. "These guys would have their work cut out for them if they didn't have help from people like you."

"Yeah well this isn't going to be enough. There's at least a few hundred injured people here, and at least fifty or more are critical, we need more assistance, and now."

No sooner had the words come out of Catherine's mouth than the sound of helicopter propellers buffeting the air cut through. They both looked up to see eight black hawks circling above and begin to descend onto the quad's lawn. Simultaneously a caravan of Humvees rolled up the road and parked alongside the grass. Dozens upon dozens of soldiers in full combat gear piled out of the military convoy and streaked across the grass to set up a perimeter as the eight helicopters touched down. Medical personnel quickly followed the soldiers and began to assist the EMS and others providing aid to those most seriously wounded.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe they thought it was a terrorist attack and came to protect us? Anyways now that they're here to help, we need to go find Brian. He ran off to help people, he must be around here somewhere."

As they stood up and began to look around the last helicopter landed at the far end of the quad in front of the library. Out stepped the Colonel with a look of determination on his face.

"The Nanoborgs may have struck first," he thought, surveying the chaos around him, "but we will stand victorious over them."

Taking one last glance around, he turned on his heel and headed to an inconspicuous door to the side of the library's front steps, followed closely by a small posse of armed guards and scientists.

* * *

"This may actually work," Julia said, however her voice was filled with doubt, as she began the procedure.

She typed in the final commands before looking up at Dr. McCoy. He nodded at her and pressed a blinking red button on the console in front of him.

The table that Brian was strapped onto began to move, as the arm it was attached to retracted back into the giant pod. Once inside the pod's doors swung shut and let out a hiss as they sealed air tight. The doors had a glass window allowing the three to see straight into pod. Weakly Brian's eyes fluttered open and he managed to lift his head up enough to look out of the pod. The last thing he saw was a cadre of uniformed people walking in behind the three researchers before falling unconscious.

"What is the meaning of this?" Shouted the Colonel seeing the procedure taking place.

"Ahh Colonel Tiberius, I was hoping you'd be able to witness the procedure," Dr. McCoy responded calmly. "The man in the pod about to be administered the Omega Strain was injured fighting against the Nanoborgs. And as luck would have it, of all possible people it happened to be none other than Brian Holmes."

"Brian Holmes? The one who..."

"Yes the one who scored the highest across the board for compatibility. I would've asked for permission, however due to the severity of his injuries time was of the essence. If not for us being on the scene so quickly and moving him down here to lab right away he would have succumbed to his wounds."

Dr. McCoy was interrupted by the screams that Brian began to let out. Immediately everyone's attention was drawn to the pod. The cylinder of glowing red liquid had begun to empty as the solution was running its way through the tubes and into the IV's attached to Brian's arms. Brian howled in pain as the Omega Strain entered into his bloodstream.

"Professor, we have to end this! He's in too much pain." Julia shouted, reaching for the abort switch.

"He's dead anyways." The Colonel said as he grabbed her hand, just inches away from pressing abort. "If he dies, it will not be in vain. We will learn so much, maybe enough to perfect the strain."

Brian's screams fell silent, but were soon replaced by the beeping of the medical equipment monitoring his vitals. His heart was beginning to fibrillate and blood pressure was skyrocketing. As programmed in the situation the pod sent jolts of electricity through it to defibrillate Brian's heart. However, this set off a chain reaction of events causing sparks to fly in all directions. Lightning began to arc off of the pod causing nearby equipment to explode. The last of the glowing red serum was injected into Brian before the pod suffered a catastrophic meltdown. All the lights in the lab went out as the pod's doors exploded off in a flash of red light, crashing through the Plexiglas barrier sending Mike, Julia, Dr. McCoy, and all of the military personnel to scatter, diving for cover.

The dust began to settle and the emergency lights kicked on in the lab after a few seconds. Everyone slowly looked around, still dazed from the explosion. Colonel Tiberius was the first to his feet and he began to dust himself off.

"Is everyone ok?" He asked beginning to survey the scene. Seeing the damage that the explosion had caused he look at Dr. McCoy who had just regained his footing and was putting his glasses back on. "Such a shame to lose a near perfect subject. Brian could have been perfect in his role."

However, at that moment Dr. McCoy saw movement through the haze of dust still lingering in the air of the lab. Suddenly a hand reached out from within the pod. Slowly but steadily Brian Holmes stepped out of the pod. The wounds on his chest were completely healed, not even a scar remained to mark the grisly wounds he bore just minutes ago. So too were all signs of bruising and cuts from the fight from the previous night. In fact, except for his disheveled hair and skin covered in dirt and dust Brian's body was perfect.

"No Colonel, we did not lose him. In fact, we gained our greatest asset for the impending war against the Nanoborgs. We have our Red Ranger."

 **Finally, we know what the mysterious Omega Strain was, as well as witnessing the birth of the first ranger. But how did the Colonel and Dr. McCoy already know who Brian was? What exactly is their history? And who might be joining him as a ranger soon? More will come, with a whole lot of action, answers to some of the mysteries, and maybe a few mysteries more.**

 **I want to get some ideas for other rangers for the team. If you couldn't tell already, I may have a few in mind but I'd like to hear some ideas for other characters to add. As before please favorite and review to let me know how I'm doing. I'll probably have another chapter up tomorrow or the next day.**


End file.
